The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, The Author: David W. Rabe
First Performance: 1971, New York
Published: 1972
Genre: Drama in 2 acts
Setting: Vietnam, Georgia and Pavlo's mother's home, USA, 1965–7
Cast: 18m, 4f, extras
The action of the play is given in flashback. As Pavlo Hummel, a US serviceman, dies from a grenade attack on a Vietnamese brothel, he relives his army career. Accompanied by his alter ego, a black sergeant named Ardell, Pavlo is trained in an army boot camp in Georgia, where he attempts to overcome his isolation from the other conscripts by telling tall stories about himself. He satisfactorily endures the rigours of basic training, and visits his dysfunctional family of mother and half-brother before being posted to Vietnam as a medic. After losing his virginity to a prostitute and having coped...
[The entire page is 336 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
eNotes Pass
